3 Types of People in a Fellowship | Mark 3:1-6 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

Mark chapter three in our bios today. Mark chapter three. Mark three, verse one, verse two. Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him.

Lord, with these two verses, help us. We are unable to fully grasp what you have to say apart from the teaching work of the Holy Spirit. And so, Lord, we come with hungry hearts. We we hunger and thirst for righteousness. And, Lord, we admit that we are a distracted bunch, and that there is a war for our affections.

But, Lord, with this message today, win us again, and keep us keep us where we're supposed to be beholding the glory of the Lord. And as we behold, oh, Lord, will you promise that we would be transformed into that very same image of moral glory? We give ourselves to you with trust that you are in the midst. In your name we pray. Amen.

This new chapter in the gospel of Mark really just continues the theme that we concluded with in the last verses of the previous chapter. And in case we may have forgotten what it was that we heard last week, the spirit of God opened up to us the beginnings of a new friction between Jesus and the Pharisees around the Sabbath observance. And as we heard, the Pharisees through their tradition violated this holy weekly day that was a gift to the people for rest to the point that it was absolutely mangled from the original purpose that God intended for it. But Jesus, on the other hand, we see, rebuked the Pharisees for their misapplication and even corrected them when they sought to try to condemn him and his disciples for their behavior on the Sabbath, and and the Lord concluded his argument by declaring his sovereignty over the Sabbath. And we can imagine how this made the Pharisees feel since this holy day was the apex of their empty religious exhibition.

And though there was no recorded reaction from the Pharisees after Jesus' statement of sovereignty, there will be one in this section of scripture, and it will reveal just how central their twisted view of the Sabbath was to their empty hollow system. But as always, the Lord Jesus has much more to offer us in his word than just a mere history lesson. Every single time we come to a text like this, every every time you come to any portion of the word of God, these events, these interactions are intended to convey truths that will cross cultures and that will travel throughout the generations so that God's people would understand what he asks of them. Therefore, let him who has ears to hear, hear. And what we will hear is what God wants to say through these two verses.

And why just these two verses? You notice I didn't continue to the rest of the verses that complete the picture, and it is because to attempt to try to cover all these things in one setting, I believe, would be an injustice to the rich truths that we can cultivate if we just take our time and meditate on what these things imply. And so we we can read the rest just to understand the context, but we will meditate on the first two verses. So we see, again, he entered the synagogue and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him.

And he said to the man with the withered hand, come here. And he said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life, or to kill? But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger. He looked around with them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand.

He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against them, how to destroy him. In a parallel passage, Luke tells us that Jesus entered a synagogue in an undisclosed town on another Sabbath. It's possible that this took place not too far along after Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees in the grain fields because this unpredictable rabbi was surely on the radar of these men who lived to expose those who would defy their rules. And with a new level of tension in the air, our lord is in a public house of worship, unconcerned about the lurking eyes of these agitated scribes.

And we see here that the Pharisees end up being in the same service on this particular day. In fact, in the first two verses, we read of and we are told of three different people who attended the synagogue on this Sabbath morning or afternoon. And here's what I wanna present to you today. The actions and the attitudes of each person in the first two verses teach us something about the range of reasons that people make way into the house of worship today. In other words, when you just really look at the the heart posture of each party that are represented in this text, we will see something of why it is people come to the house of God, why they should come to the house of God, and how being in the house of God doesn't necessarily mean that they are in Christ.

And so as you hear what I present to you today in these first two verses, this will either encourage you or it will challenge you, and it will all really depend on where you are at in terms of your relationship with the assembly of God's people, and how you understand God's house, and how you fellowship with people, and where you stand with the Lord. And so just just look at this through the lens of Maranatha Bible Church, the assembly, this local congregation that God has birthed and by his grace will maintain. And hear what we see in these two verses and how these different people represent, again, different heart postures in the house of God. The first person that we read of is Jesus himself. Again, he entered the synagogue.

For the word again to be brought up implies that Jesus made it a habit to come into the synagogue. In fact, Luke tells us in chapter four of his text that it was his custom, and it's no mystery why Jesus would find himself in these synagogues. Remember, these these community centers were helpful to the Israeli community because for those who are too distant from the temple, this is where they could come for regular worship. This is where they could come gather and receive the the the reading of God's word and even singing and even praying to a certain extent. And it was for those who long to remain in an atmosphere where worship was being offered to God.

And the Lord Jesus would make his way into these places so that he would take advantage of this environment and proclaim his truth, the truth. But when you collect the data of Jesus and his interactions with this setting, what you will notice is that the lord strategically and joyfully exercised his gifts within within those arenas. And I bring this point up because Jesus here is our example. He would come into these synagogues, and and he would teach. Yes.

But besides teaching, some of the most memorable and powerful miracles took place in these places. Remember in Mark chapter one, a man possessed with a demon was delivered. In Mark chapter three, we see that a man with a withered hand is going to be restored. And in Luke 13, we read of a woman who was hunched over for so many years because of a disabling spirit, and Jesus with his authority will rescue her. All to say what?

With this brief observation, the Lord in his loving and sacrificial approach in the assembly of God at this time, which was the synagogues, is an inspiration to us because his attitude contrasts so strongly with the attitude of the Pharisees. Do you wanna see how the Pharisees saw the synagogues? Well, you're gonna have to turn with me to Luke in chapter 11 verse 43. As Jesus pronounces woes to the Pharisees, notice this particular condemnation from the Lord himself. Luke chapter 11 verse 43, we read the Lord saying something very powerful.

Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. You love the best seat in the synagogue. The Pharisees had a habit of being present in the synagogues as well, but for completely different reasons. These men saw these God focused places as a stage for them to be celebrities. The best seats that Jesus is referring to here were positioned in a way that they would face the congregation, and they were designated for distinguished guests.

And the Pharisees loved those seats because they had an insatiable yearning for recognition and for status, and there was something about those chairs that fed that carnal craving. And it's sad to say that these leaders did not see the synagogues as a context where they could serve others. No. Because it was a site where they could be lavish with praise and tribute, and Jesus said, woe to you. For that, and unfortunately, the same can be said for those who approach and engage with local ministries today.

They perceive the holy assembly of God as a platform for their selfish opportunities and desires, where they can attain positions and titles with little to no regard of the the true purpose of when God's people come together as we are this afternoon. But our Lord was not like the Pharisees. Our Lord did not look for the best seat. You know what our Lord did? He stooped to the lowest ground and washed the feet of his servants.

And in these synagogues, he was no different. He came in to proclaim the news, the good news to the poor. He came to preach that which would set the captive free, to recover the sight of the blind, to proclaim liberty to those who were oppressed. In other words, Jesus came into the assembly of God's people to serve in the capacity in which the Holy Spirit has anointed him. Does the selflessness of Christ not inspire you?

Does it not stir you to reflect the same loneliness and humbleness in our attitude and how we relate to one another as a fellowship of brothers and sisters? We see that the Christian life is really a continual training of the spirit to to help us take our eyes off of what is best for us and to see what is best for others. That that's what the the Holy Spirit seeks to cultivate in us, not to look for the best for us, but to look for the best for others, how we can how we can bless them and honor them and and comfort them and uphold them. And a friend the other night sent me a verse not knowing what I was preparing, not knowing what message I was going to share today, and I I thought it fit so perfectly with this point. Because if there was a man in the scriptures that had such a deep work done in him by the Lord Jesus Christ, if there was such a miracle that took place in conversion, and anybody in history was the apostle Paul, Have you ever considered the the great and deep significant thing that that God had cultivated in this man?

You see it in so many places, and this man dared to say by the Spirit's authority, follow me as I follow Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. And you have people who limit that that to missionary work and to preaching and to holiness and abstinence from the things of this yes. Sure. But have you looked at the specifics?

The the attitude, the mindset, the way he related to other believers. I want you to see one place that stimulates me, and I hope it stimulates you. I want you to see a place that will challenge you to to greater heights of Christian love. A love that Jesus calls us to. It's it's in a very obscure passage in second, Corinthians chapter 12 verse 15.

Turn there with me because I want you to see this with your eyes. This is Paul addressing the Corinthians. And we see here that as he addresses them, he makes a statement, and we'll we'll begin in verse 14. Here for the third time, I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden for I will seek not what is yours, but you. I will seek not what is yours, but you.

In other words, what he's saying here is, I'm not here. I'm not here to relate to you, to get something from you. I'm here for you, what I can add to you. Don't be distracted. That's okay.

Somebody will take care of that. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. Now notice verse 15. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you, am I to be loved less?

I'm not here to be a burden to you. What he's speaking here is I'm not here to exercise my gifts, my presence in your midst, my involvement in your lives is not so that I can retrieve some monetary gain. That's the context. I'm not here to be a burden to you because as believers, we're called to be burden bearers, not burden creators. Burden bearers.

Right? But look at verse 15. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. That's the great apostle. Yes.

This great apostle said, follow me as I follow Christ. What is he saying here? He's saying, I will most gladly offer whatever physical means I need to in order to contribute to your sanctification, your comfort, your blessing, I will gladly spend. And he's talking about literal spending. But then two, he says, if it means that I have to give something of myself, I will gladly do that as well.

And and this is the thing, sometimes acts of service are what we do by extending, our belongings or making acts of of purchases or supplying in order to help another brother or sister to support him in various ways, and and that that is not a a a lesser way of being a servant. But if we're honest with ourselves, when it comes to hesitation to be loving in our sacrifice, we are more hesitant when we realize that it requires something of our time, of our energy, when it expends us personally, Paul says, I'll gladly do either. If I need to send something your way, if I need to send myself to you, I will gladly do either. But it doesn't end there because he goes further by stating something that I'm so glad the Holy Spirit left in the Bible. In the second part, he says, if I love you more, am I to be loved less?

There's hurt behind those words. There's pain. Because what he's saying here is the intense love that I have for you is not reciprocal. The more I love you, the seem the the less you love me. The more I'm willing to sacrifice for you, the more you are willing to pull back from me.

Why is my love for you only causing you to value and care for me less? That's what Paul is saying. What a word. What a word for those who serve in the church and feel like they are not being recognized. Listen very closely.

What a word for husbands. What a word for wives who are trying to be a godly spouse, but they cannot find any clue of even just basic respect in return. What a word. What a word. Because what we see here is that the apostle knows that kind of pain.

He knows what it's like to give and give and not receive and return, but here's the beauty of this truth. Paul could still say that he would greatly spend and be spent even though his love was unappreciated, even though it was not returned. And what I wanna tell you today that in Christ Jesus, such a miracle is possible in our lives. That we can arrive to such great love for others. And Paul is very human here.

He still feels that pain where he he realizes that this is not a mutual thing, and yet he can still confidently say because of Christ in him. I'll I'll still gladly serve. I'm more than willing to give myself. You say impossible. You say impossible you don't know who I'm married to.

You say impossible you don't know how stubborn people are in my family. You don't understand how people in my church don't really recognize me. They don't even greet me, and I tell you what is impossible for man is possible for God. It's possible. If there's any miracle that you would covet, would you covet this one?

If there's any work of God that you would yearn for, would it not be a burning bush or the Red Sea splitting in half? Would it be your heart coming to this Christ like love? Arriving to such a state of splendid, sacrificial, giving of self. This was Jesus. I refuse to believe that Paul loved more than Jesus loved.

And we see in this man a work of Christ that is available to you and I. Oh, when you look around and you see these people to your left and to your right before you and behind you, as you do life with brothers who who come together as a church, as a congregation, would we not look for the best for ourselves, but the best for those who are before us? This is Paul's heart. This is Jesus's heart. Wherever he went, people left blessed.

The second person I wanna bring to your attention in this synagogue is a man with a withered hand. We don't know the cause for his lifeless limb. We're not told if it was an accident or a disease that brought about this this function, but the severity of this man's disability is highlighted by no other than doctor Luke. Doctor Luke, if you remember, told us that the man that was healed from leprosy early on a few weeks ago in Mark was full of leprosy. Mark doesn't say that.

Luke does. And when you come to this text that Luke also records, he gives us another observation that only a physician would find necessary to to make note of. It's in Luke six verse six. On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. Mark doesn't say that.

Just his hand. Luke, doctor Luke, good doctor Luke, by this spirit, says, no. No. No. More specifically, it was his it was his right hand.

Why would the Holy Spirit wanna mention that? Well, because most people are right handed. And And it could be that the spirit of God mentions this as a hint that it was this man's dominant hand that was damaged, making his affliction all the more challenging to live with. Perhaps some of us know how annoying it is to have one of our fingers out of the 10 out of service. Imagine your whole hand hanging there, lifeless, paralyzed for good.

And we might feel empathy for this man. But I I say, let's let's be inspired by him. Because despite his handicap, he is in a place of worship. He is in a place of worship. And I was looking at this and I was meditating on this, and this is the phrase that came to my mind.

This man was withered, but he was worshipful. Withered, but worshipful. Now here's the point that I make from this. What kind of revelation did this man have that most believers can't seem to come to terms with? In other words, why why is it so hard to convince Christians to comprehend the absolute gift that the gathering of the saints is?

Why is it that when people are are shriveled up, if I can use that word symbolically, shriveled up spiritually, shriveled up emotionally, shriveled up financially, They avoid the very place that was divinely designed to provide strength and encouragement. That's my question. We're not told whether or not this man was a regular member of the synagogue, but this is the thing that we see. Because he prioritized worship, oh, he encountered a blessing that was unimaginable. What if this man, this unnamed fellow skipped synagogue this day?

You might debate me. I say, he wouldn't have been healed. What if he thought to himself, yeah, I'm not really in the mood to go to synagogue today. I'll just livestream it. And this actual healing provides a symbolic lesson to encourage us not to miss the blessings that can only be found in public worship and the fellowship of the brethren.

Thomas did that too. Remember when the disciples were gathered in the upper room and Jesus showed up? Guess who was missing? Thomas. Thomas chose to livestream that day.

I don't want to miss when Jesus will show up. And he has a habit of showing up where God's people gather in his name. This man, again, was this his first time? Did he hear Jesus coming to his synagogue so he made a first appearance, or was he there regularly? I don't know.

But I like to visualize this man with his right hand tucked, maybe wearing a longer sleeve because he was embarrassed about it, and yet still coming to the house of God with faith in his heart because he knew that there was something more important than his body being whole, but his soul being blessed. You and I are charged to come in here whether we are broken or whether we are blessed. Because when we come in here, God wants to bless us again and again and again. And I wanna show you variations of spiritual handicaps and the instruction that are given to them in one simple verse. It's in the book of first Thessalonians chapter five.

This is one of my favorite verses when it comes to relating to the brethren in fellowship. First Thessalonians chapter five verse 14. First Thessalonians chapter five verse 14. May this verse be chained around our hearts, and we urge you, Paul saying this is urgent. This is like emergency stuff.

And we urge you brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. Oh, how we need that one. Be patient with them all. This verse proves that even among believers who are committed to one another, you have some who are in covenant with Christ who might be idle, who might be faint hearted, who might be weak. What does it mean to be idle?

Another way of understanding it is to be unsupportive. To be idle means to be unsupportive because of carelessness or because of criticism. It speaks of a believer who is not involved, not engaged, but who is distant due to distraction or even because of bitterness. So they're idle. They're they're not active.

They're not here really. They're here, but they're not here. They're they're kind of on the horizon. They're kinda on the border, and they are idle. And and Paul says, hey.

You believers, brothers, you gotta warn these ones, And you gotta let them know the danger of remaining in such a place of complacency and contempt. It's dangerous. So admonish them. Then he goes on to speak about the faint hearted, describing those who are easily feared, those who are given to worry. They don't deal well with transitions in life.

They don't deal well with transitions in ministry. Right? It's like when something happens in the church, it's like it messes them up for months. They're shaken easily by the news or the threat of persecution, and they can't seem to stomach, and they can't seem to stand firm when there's spiritual warfare within. And Paul tells these brothers, oh, would you encourage the faint hearted?

Would you come alongside them and remind them of the faithfulness of God, of the presence of God in all of our troubles? And he says, the weak help the weak. Who are the weak? Those who are not spiritually disciplined. So they are they are wobbly in their defense against temptation.

They seem to always be tempted to lapse into immorality, and they don't seem to graduate at the desired pace in godliness. They need special attention. These guys need, like, twenty four seven, around the clock accountability. They need to be reminded of God's goodness and God's warnings about sin and really just rehearsing the basic truths of the faith. Paul says to the brothers, help these guys.

Help them. Lock arms with them. Give your number to them. Be available to them. And what I love is when it comes to the idle, when it comes to the faint hearted, when it comes to the weak, you know what our temptation is as brothers who might not be caught in either of those things is to be frustrated with them.

When will you get it? When will you snap out of it? It's been so long. The Holy Spirit says, be patient. Growth is not overnight.

Healing is not immediate. Oh, we wish it was, but be patient. It will come. Don't give up. Now it's clear that this verse is designated for the strong.

It's an instruction for the brothers who are not in any of these pits, but can reach down and pull somebody out of it. But I want us to see this verse in the opposite end. In other words, pay attention to this. If you are idle, if you are faint hearted, if you are weak, according to this verse, from where does a major aspect of your help come from? Your brothers.

Your brothers. That's what I see out of it. You endanger yourself when you remove yourself from the brothers. And just like this withered man, we are risk of remaining in that condition of weakness and disability. When we refuse to allow Christ do to us what he did to that man, and that's heal us through the members of his body, his hands and feet, the church of Jesus Christ.

So I hope this encourages every person here to know that you can come. You can come in your brokenness. In fact, you must come because there are elders here, and there are brothers here, and there are sisters here who will admonish you and encourage you and help you no matter what you are withered with. No matter what it is, whether it's your faith, whether it's your heart that's been shattered, whether it's your marriage, whether it's your relationship with your children, do not miss how Christ can bring about life to you as you choose to be before him. As you choose to throw yourself in his very presence and the presence of God's people, you'd be amazed to know how he can strengthen you in what seems to be without hope, without life, without a pulse.

We come to the third party in the story. We looked at Jesus. What an example for us to look for the best in others, not for the best for ourselves. We look at this withered man that even when we're not doing the best, we come to the brothers. Even if you come in limping, even if you come rolling in because you don't even have the strength to gird up your loins, come.

And this place which will be a holy hospital will bind you and build you and be patient with you and care for you until you can walk again, until you can serve again, until you can see again. But there is a last a last group. The first two are positive. The last is negative. Come back to Mark with me in chapter three.

Again, he entered the synagogue, verse one, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. That they, I'm sure you guessed it, according to Luke, tells us that they were the scribes and the Pharisees. And they came to watch Jesus, but not for the reasons that we would hope. These men have reached the point and their relationship with Jesus that they wanted to study his every move, his every move.

They became spies to try to find fault in him. And when they came to the synagogue this day, whether they followed Jesus, they were there in attendance and Jesus knew they were there. They made the connection. Man in one of the pews is withered. Jesus who can heal is in the midst.

Let's see if he will break one of our laws. Which I find funny because even in that thinking, you're indirectly admitting that this man, Jesus of Nazareth, has the ability to heal. It's incredible. And as these Pharisees observed, they knew who Jesus was to a degree. They knew what he was able to do, but listen to this.

They still did not know him. What do I mean? These Pharisees knew who he was, knew what he was able to do, but they did not know him in a saving way. You know what breaks my heart about this passage? This is the beauty about studying the word of God consecutively and in order.

Prior to this, Jesus corrected these men. He exposed their hypocrisy. He pointed out the holes in their legalism. And yet based on verse two of chapter three, no sign of conviction. No sign of change.

No brokenness. No consideration about where they could be wrong in their standing with God. Nothing of the sort. In fact, what you see with these men is that they are just hardened all the more. And they heard his teaching, and they beheld his glory, and here they are sitting in the presence of the best teacher, best preacher, best miracle worker, unsaved.

Lost as lost can be. Here's my fear, that what was true for these Pharisees as they find themselves in a spiritual atmosphere and surrounding can be possible for those even in a setting like this this afternoon. Jesus is there. The Pharisees are there, but there is no connection. No salvation, no redemption.

And it reminds me it reminds me of the words of some of the people that will say at that final day when the Lord will look and say, where did you come from? And they would come up with this amazing, amazing argument that in their minds thought would persuade Jesus that they did know each other. It's not Matthew seven twenty one. It's another place, and it is extremely insightful. I think it's important for churches to rehearse that truth from time to time, especially as new people come in.

It's in Luke, again. Luke thirteen twenty five. Luke thirteen twenty five. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. That that's like a crushing statement.

That's a crushing statement. But look at verse 26, then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me all you workers of evil. Such a sobering text.

Do you see what Jesus says about these eternal outcast? They will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our neighborhoods. Jesus didn't say, you're lying. He didn't call him out because of a bluff. He in his silence acknowledges that that is true.

In other words, these people one day, on the final day, will appeal to the fact that they were those who who sat under teachings about Jesus, and who were even in fellowship, eating and drinking and feasting with those who did so under the banner of Jesus. But Jesus will say, I but you're a stranger to me. I I don't know you. But, Lord, we were there. We we were there at every potluck, and we were there in every service, and we were there at the conferences.

We were there in your presence. We were there eating and drinking with you and in our context with God's people. And there will be a a thundering pronouncement from the lips of the holy judge. I don't know where you come from. Why?

Because people make the fatal mistake in thinking that being around Jesus is the same as being in Jesus. But being in close proximity to the presence of Jesus Christ and the presence of Jesus Christ and his people is not the same as the presence of Christ abiding in you and me. Not the same. So to qualify that we are in Jesus because we are with Jesus's people and we hear about Jesus and we sing about Jesus is a dangerous, dangerous place to put your assurance in mind. And this is my sincere prayer that not one here, not one, one, one, one, not one here who watches what Jesus does in this place and hears about Jesus week after week who doesn't have the assurance that they are numbered among the redeemed.

That's my prayer every week before coming to this pulpit that there would be no Pharisees. No Pharisees who studied Jesus, but not for the reason that would save them. But here's the hope. Because when you come to this group of people, it's amazing how much attention is given to the Pharisees throughout the life of Jesus. It's just amazing.

It makes you wonder if Jesus really wants us know to know the characteristics of such men and the dangers of following in their steps. Some would say that these Pharisees were just like the destined enemies of Christ and there was no hope for them, and some of us might be discouraged even because we might know Pharisee like people where they, again, they watch what Jesus is doing, they're in the presence of Jesus to an extent, but there is no significant evidence that there is a saving work done in their hearts. If there is any group in the Bible that would be near impossible to being saved, it was the Pharisees. Jesus didn't pronounce woes to the prostitutes or to the tax collectors or to the zealots. He pronounced woes to one group of people and that was the Pharisees.

And in my reading, I'm currently in Acts. In my reading, I was just brushing through Acts, and I came to a certain chapter, and there was this this little hint, and this hint just exploded from the pages. And I thought to myself, maybe because we're going through Mark, wow. What an awesome gospel we have. What a powerful gospel we have.

Would you like to see it? You don't have a choice. In Acts, and this is our final text this afternoon, let this inspire you that the most stubborn, those who are vehemently against our Christ, those who seem unsavable though they are in the midst of gospel preaching, of gospel power, of gospel testimony. Look at Acts chapter 15 with me. And notice a little phrase that we might we might have not meditated on and considered the implications of.

Verse four. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belong to the party of the who? The Pharisees. Rose up and said, it is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.

Now this is this is so, like, almost contradicting to our experience with the Pharisees that even some people who when they read that phrase, but some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees, they're not true believers. They're fake. They, like, acknowledge the doctrines of Jesus and they maybe believe that he did raise from that, but they were not truly regenerate. Hold on. If the Holy Spirit wanted to tell us that they weren't saved, he would not have said they are believers.

He could have easily said, but some who belong to the party of the Pharisees, and this scene would have made sense still. Believers. Believers. Believers who would not yet mature clearly because they were so gripped by their habit of observing ceremonial laws and and being law keepers, yes, that's clear here, but believers nonetheless, Christ can save the Pharisee. This gospel can save the Pharisee.

Yes. Even the one who who has been in the same place for years, and they're still heathens, self righteous, unfruitful, no testimony. They laugh and talk and text during the sermons. They don't participate in singing. They have no inclusion in in they just watch what Jesus is doing.

Even they can be saved. That's how powerful this truth is. So I'm not intimidated nor am I discouraged. When I look out and see different reasons to why people come to the assembly of God, I am not shaken because I believe that Jesus can do miracles today still. He can do miracles in the Christian who seeks to do what is best for them and change them like he changed Paul to say, I will gladly spend and be spent for you.

Even if you don't love me, I will love you and lavish my love upon you. He can do that. And he is a miracle worker where somebody can come in withered and broken and smash my life, But then through his members, through his hands and feet, such a person can be sustained and strengthened for another day. And he can even save the Pharisee. All miracles happen here week after week.

Do not take this assembly lightly. When we come together, God can do miracles. And I encourage you, don't miss the blessings that Jesus has reserved every week here at Maranatha Bible Church. Glory be to God. Let's pray.

Lord, with these two verses as our portion, thank you for feeding us. Thank you for admonishing us, encouraging us, helping us. Lord, we just ask that there be a revived love for the house of God. Lord, it seems to be a very consistent theme in the past few weeks for our church, So we take heed. Help us be like your son who is anointed by the spirit to serve.

Anoint us to serve. Help us in our brokenness like that unnamed man, to not remove ourselves from where you have proclaimed healing, but in our idleness, in our weakness, in our faint heartedness to give ourselves to your people and to experience a miracle in our faith. And, Lord, for the Pharisees, the Pharisees who might be in attendance, help us, oh, god, trust that your word proclaimed and our prayers can save a Pharisee, and you can make a Paul out of that Pharisee. But, Lord, we don't wanna be those who are familiar with your presence and who eat and drink with God's people, but do not have your presence living in us. So even if there's one in here, father, that that cannot attest to being born again.

That in this place where you do miracles because your word is preaching, your people are gathered in covenant with you. Oh, Lord, change that person. Change that person. We trust that you will. And, Lord, we rejoice in you.

We rejoice in how deep your word is and how rich it is, and we wanna just glorify glorify who you are even in these two verses this afternoon. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord.